The Paradigm of Understanding
by Tea's
Summary: In Team 8, there were certain things you simply don't speak of. Perhaps it was because of this that he never really knew her at all.
1. A Razor's Edge

**Author's Note:** Every time I lie down on the bed, I would get these "snapshots" in my head... like flashes of conversation, scenes, or just brief moments of _something_. I suppose you can say it's when my muse likes to visit me the most. As a result, that's where the basis of my stories generally come from. The following is a product of one of those flashes, and I hope you'll be willing to give it a try. And yes, it's another one of Kiba/Hanabi... because the idea is just that fascinating to me.

Disclaimer: Naruto is by Masashi Kishimoto.

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**The Paradigm of Understanding  
**by Téa

Part 1: A Razor's Edge

_I cut you because it's the only thing I know how to do._

_.._

In Team 8, there were certain things that its members had learned throughout the years to simply not question. It took many painful trials to establish what they were, but it also made them that much more aware of every single sharp edge that came with it. Yet, still, they remained abstract, because an unspoken wasn't something you could give shape to.

It was very early on, when the topic of Hyuuga house became defined as an untouchable where Hinata was concerned.

..

If asked, Kiba would've said he only ever saw her from a distance. And though that may not have been completely accurate, it was closer to the truth for him. He wanted to say he could've talked to her, but Hyuuga Hanabi wasn't someone you just speak to. To him, she was intangible. Always there and yet never quite so.

It was one week before Hinata died, when Kiba really heard Hanabi speak for the first time.

She became real to him that day... like a sharp blade cutting so swiftly it drew blood before pain could be registered.

..

"You don't train enough. That's _why_ Father-"

She noticed him then, he knew, as he walked slowly through the archway leading to the courtyard with Shino following just a few steps behind. But she spared them no glance, no attention. Only fingers tightening around her sister's wrist until her knuckles turned white.

Hinata flinched, whether from the pain, the words, or their presence, Kiba didn't know. "I- I'm sorry, Hanabi. I just- _I can't_."

He was aware of Shino coming up next to him, but he couldn't look away, even for Hinata's sake. Something about the scene before him struck him as inexplicably wrong, and he wanted- _had_ to stare at the younger woman and the way she held on to her sister angrily, almost desperately.

"_Please, Hanabi_... I have to go." With eyes averted and bangs shadowing her face, she whispered brokenly, "I have a mission."

He could see Hinata trying to shrink backwards and free herself, but Hanabi only stepped closer, with narrowed pale eyes fixed intently on only her sister. "He thinks you're a disgrace!"

The furious shout vibrated through the courtyard, and Hinata shuddered a little. Akamaru whined then, and it was in that moment that Kiba realized he had one hand wrapped firmly around Hanabi's arm, freeing Hinata in the process. He was crossing an invisible line, he knew, but it all seemed unimportant right then.

Yanking her towards him, he leaned in and quietly said, "Hey woman, I don't know what your problem is, but don't you think that's enough?"

She turned to look at him, in that slow, deliberate manner of hers, and then a corner of her lips lifted in a slight sneer. Her voice was low and full of malice as she replied, "I suggest you let go if you want to keep your arm."

If there was one thing to be said about Kiba, it was his rebellious nature and the desire to do the opposite of what he was told, if only to spite them. Giving her a humorless smile, he tightened his grip and invaded her space that much more just because he could.

"Go on," he taunted, "I'd like to see you try."

There was so much fury in her eyes then, as the veins around them threatened to emerge. For one brief moment, Kiba wondered if he should've exercised more caution. He knew nothing about her at all, he realized.

They stood there, gaze for gaze, and then she hissed, "This has nothing to do with a common mutt like you. You've had your warn-"

"Stop it! _Please just stop_."

Silence settled heavily between them all as tears slid down Hinata's cheeks. And along with the salt, it was as though Hanabi's rage rolled away with it, leaving only a tired resignation behind.

Kiba's hand, too, fell limply to his side, and his voice was laced with regret as he called out to his teammate, "Hinata..."

She refused to meet his eyes, choosing instead to turn away as she murmured, "We should go. Kurenai-sensei is waiting."

He wanted to say something, anything, but a hand stopped him before he could form the words. Shino only shook his head slightly, but he understood well. Some things you simply don't speak of, and the Hyuuga affairs was one of them.

Closing his eyes, Kiba took a deep breath and nodded. With one last hard look at Hanabi, he turned and placed an arm protectively around Hinata to guide her out of the house.

The words came softly, perhaps angrily, perhaps sadly, but it echoed clearly around them all the same. "He makes his decision in ten days, Hinata. Why can't you see it'll be too late?"

And then there was a whisper so faint, Kiba sometimes wondered if he had imagined it all.

_"Onee-san."_

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**June 11, 2007. **This isn't the end of the fic, but I don't quite mean that in the traditional sense either. I should say that I see this story in "parts" and not so much like the usual flow of chapters. Because this fic came to me in flashes, it's how I've chosen to write it as well. For this reason, the installments won't be long and some may possibly even be drabble-length. It's something I'm experimenting on, so I hope it'll work out okay. One thing I can say though- this isn't going to be a long story by any means.

As always, reviews and feedback are very much appreciated. Thank you for reading. :)

_Written in May of 2007 (804 words)._


	2. In Death the Sun Shines

**Author's Note:** Just wanted to quickly say thanks to the three precious people who took the time to review. You have no idea how much I appreciate them, especially in stories such as these. I started it well aware that it's not the type that will ever garner half the amount of attention that most fics with popular themes and pairings do. But I enjoy writing it and am glad to know at least a few of you enjoy reading it too. I hope this next part keeps your interest.

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**The Paradigm of Understanding  
**by Téa

Part 2: In Death the Sun Shines

_I was born dead, and maybe you're right to say I'm heartless._

..

It was a bright morning, sunny and with just the right touch of breeze to make the autumn leaves swirl on the ground. Her favorite kind, Hinata once confessed as Team 8 broke for lunch in the middle of training. Shyly, she had said it was the kind of day that made her think everything was going to be okay.

The service began a little after eight o'clock, under the warmth of the sun and the cool of the wind. None of the Hyuuga were present at the funeral, and if anyone had wondered why, no one dared voice it.

..

They told him her body wasn't really there, that it was only a marker for the village to honor her services as a shinobi of the Leaf. The body held too many secrets, they said, and the Hyuuga had taken her the moment she was brought in through the gates covered in a sheet.

"Is she finally important to you _now_?" he had shouted as they took her away, none of them giving him any indication that they had heard him or even cared for his words.

..

He didn't have to turn around to know she was there. He recognized her scent, and it almost surprised him to realize that he could do so with such ease. He hadn't thought he knew how she really smelled like. It reminded him of Konoha's forest after the break of a storm- strong, _calming_. And it angered him somehow.

The sun hung low on the horizon, and everyone had already long gone. He wasn't sure why he was still there by the empty grave, but he couldn't bring himself to leave.

"You killed her," he accused, silent desperate sobs shaking his entire form. "You all killed her."

She said nothing for a long time, and the only sound around them was the rustling of leaves against the wind. Until finally, when the sun was half-swallowed by the distant mountains, she asked, almost tenderly, "Do you think the sun can shine in hell?"

He tensed immediately from all the different implications her question brought, and he turned around in spite of himself, to look at her. But her face showed nothing, empty and devoid of any emotions he could draw upon. Her gaze, reserved only for the orange glow of the sleeping sun, merely told him she was Hyuuga. Then she turned her eyes to him, languidly yet intently.

"Everybody has a destiny, Kiba."

It was the first time she had said his name, and he shivered involuntarily in the cold wind. An angry tear escaped down the side of his face, but he refused to be ashamed of his grief.

"Are you trying to say it was Hinata's destiny _to die_?"

She regarded him silently, and he imagined he saw pity. "Dying isn't a destiny. It's something that eventually happens to everyone."

Her attention shifted, for a moment, to the grave marker behind him. The loose sleeves draping her arms whipped against the wind, and he noticed then, the traditional Hyuuga garbs that wrapped around her slender frame. It occurred to him all at once, why none of the Hyuuga came to the funeral. They held the ceremony, even as the village mourned, and he lashed out instantly and with such sudden ferocity that her slightly-widened eyes were the only indication of her awareness.

He gripped her shoulder almost wildly, the fabric of her sleeve catching and giving under his claws. "You'll never," he spoke, low and painfully, "you'll _never _take her place."

She tilted her head a little so that one of her pale eyes could meet his in their close proximity, and under different circumstances, it would've felt almost intimate. A mirthless smile graced her lips fleetingly, and she replied in a tone that seemed to mock him, "You say it as though you're afraid I would, as though I could."

He stared even as she laughed, and the harsh sound chilled him. "I am _heiress_, Kiba."

There was something in the way she looked right then that reminded him of the words Hinata uttered as her life slipped away. Even in death, she apologized, and for reasons he couldn't explain, he chose to blame Hanabi.

"Did you know, Kiba, there are worse fates than death?" she asked, as though from a bridge too far for him to reach. Then she looked past him, down at the grave. "She died a long time ago, because the sun, you see, never shines in hell."

She left him alone at those words, as he pressed a fisted hand against the flow of tears that refused to stop.

And he thought, he could've forgiven her, if she only cried.

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**June 14, 2007. **I never really thought I'd say this about any of my stories, but I want to clear up all expectations early on. This story isn't meant to be very plot-driven (I hope I didn't just kill my own fic with that statement), which means certain things will never be elaborated on. Rather, it's the kind that's meant to be _felt_. If I'm even a little successful at doing that, then I think I shall be satisfied!

Please review?

_(776 words)_


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